


there is society where none intrudes

by Lacerta26



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Developing Relationship, Epistolary, Erotica, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:00:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29639172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacerta26/pseuds/Lacerta26
Summary: Richard meets Thomas at the station, his hat pulled low over his eyes, leaning up against a pillar like a romantic hero and Thomas can’t help the broad smile that takes over his face as soon as their eyes meet.*Thomas visits Richard in London.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	there is society where none intrudes

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Byron
> 
> Thank you for reading ^_^

London, 1928

Richard meets Thomas at the station, his hat pulled low over his eyes, leaning up against a pillar like a romantic hero and Thomas can’t help the broad smile that takes over his face as soon as their eyes meet, shaking his head at the blatant posing, the certainty on Richard's face that he looks good. 

Richard takes his suitcase with an answering smile, wry already, like they’re sharing a joke, ‘good to see you, Mr Barrow.’

‘Likewise, Mr Ellis,’ Thomas ducks his head, nervous and relieved all at once, and falls into step beside Richard as he leads them in the direction of an exit.

London is freezing cold, their breath misting in the air as they get outside King’s Cross and away from the bustle concentrated around the station. It’s still busy, on every street, but the anonymity of it excites Thomas; there’s not a single person who knows him here. It’s frustrating to have to play at formality, to enforce a distance between them that can’t be misconstrued but Thomas has to concede that they might as well enjoy the game of it, if it must be a necessity, and having Richard close is enough to shake off the fatigue of the train journey. 

‘Where are we heading?’ 

Richard had been vague in his letter but reassuring regarding the arrangements. 

‘I have a friend with a flat, as I mentioned, and he’s gone to visit his mother.’

‘And...he’s happy for us to stay there?’

Richard smiles at him gently, ‘yes, he suggested it, in fact, when I told him you were paying me a visit.’

_...I will meet you at Kings Cross and we can walk together to the flat I have been lent the use of by an acquaintance. You needn’t worry, we will be there entirely alone. Think of that. I admit I have thought of it more times than I should and on occasions where my mind was meant to be on other things._

_I also think of that evening we spent together in your room at D.A. Don’t misunderstand me, it was perfect, every touch of your hands and press of your lips is etched on my memory forever but I should like to have you, slowly, and without end if we want it. This weekend we can._

_Three days, darling, and you shall have to invent some sights you’ve seen for when they ask you back at home. I have seen the Monument, you can say, and St Paul’s and Trafalgar Square when all you will have seen is the bed where I intend to make love to you..._

The flat is large and bright, clearly the home of a bachelor and one with greater means than any Thomas has ever known outside of the Dining Room at Downton. 

‘How do you know this man?’

‘He and I go way back,’ says Richard and then with a smile, ‘not in the way you’re thinking.’

Thomas frowns, he hadn’t meant to let the jealousy show but Richard’s life in London feels worlds away from his own. With every passing year he is more tied to Downton than ever before, yoked to her by necessity, when he had spent so much of his youth trying to get away. 

Maybe Richard can be his ticket out, if only for long weekends. 

Richard comes to him, encircles Thomas with his arms, warm and comforting, his lips gentle against Thomas’s brow. It’s the first purposeful touch between them and Thomas lets himself relax into it, anxiety he didn’t know he was carrying dissipating, now they are in private. 

‘I’ll make us some tea,’ Richard kisses him again, lightly to the side of his mouth, and when he steps back Thomas has to follow him.

_...I have been waiting with anticipation for the day I can get on the train down to London and see you. I take pride in my work and my attentiveness to the task at hand but I can’t deny my mind has been wandering these last few weeks._

_I think of you often and how we might be together given all the time in the world, all the things we could experience that we’ve not yet tried. I should like to put my mouth on you, take you in my mouth, and see what sounds you might make, as you did for me the first time we were together. I think I could make you feel so good you wouldn’t be able to hold back and..._

From the sofa all that can be seen out of the windows is the roofline of the building opposite and the flat, grey London sky. There's safety in that, privacy Thomas has never had the means to pay for and which Richard has borrowed to give them this weekend to use as they want. 

For all their talk they haven’t actually made it to the bed yet, but it’s a dance and a good one, to enjoy the anticipation of something to come. 

‘How was the journey?’ asks Richard as he pours the tea. 

‘Boring,’ Thomas says immediately, then revises his answer, ‘it was fine, I was thinking about you.’

Richard’s smile could light up the entirety of the West End and Thomas burns his tongue on his tea, taking a sip too soon, to look away from it. Richard puts his hand on Thomas’s wrist, the pad of him thumb stroking the fine bones there, soothing. 

‘I’m glad. That you think of me.’

Thomas knows he’s blushing; the way Richard makes him feel, dazed, like he’s all of 19 again and nursing a crush, it’s a wonder he isn’t perpetually pink in the cheeks. Maybe he is. 

They turn into each other at once, Richard drawing one leg underneath him, Thomas tipping against the back of the sofa. They still don’t make it to the bed.

_...for days. I would taste you, your lips against mine, your fingers, your prick. Have I told you how beautiful you look when you find your pleasure?_

_I imagine the flush on your cheeks and the light in your eyes when I give you that and I touch myself in anticipation of the day we can share in it again. I don’t want to make you beg (unless you’d like it if I did?) but I will take my time with you, to make sure you’re ready for me and by the time we are both satisfied you will be thinking of these few days for weeks to come._

_I know it’s not fair that we have to wait such long stretches before we can see each other again and that we have to make do with letters like this, which are no substitute for the real thing, but I promise I will make the waiting worth your while..._

Waking up naturally is a luxury Thomas is not often afforded and he closes his eyes against the brightness of the sunlight and basks in it. Richard is still asleep beside him, on his front, one arm draped across Thomas’s midriff, casually possessive, and Thomas turns into the touch. 

It’s still what most people would consider early, Thomas has never been able to turn off the internal clock that tells him he needs to be up at the crack of dawn, preparing for the day, but he doesn’t mind being awake alone if he can watch Richard sleep. His face is usually so animated it’s strange to see him so still, but it’s not strained, he looks peaceful, and then he is smiling, before he’s even opened his eyes. 

‘Good morning, Mr Barrow. Are you watching me sleep?’

‘I might be. Good morning to you too, Mr Ellis.’

Thomas lets himself be kissed even though neither of them have brushed their teeth. Richard is warm, naked skin tempting beneath the sheet, and the sound he makes when Thomas presses against him is so easy to get lost in. 

_...I want to hear you. I think the freedom of that is what I want most, to know what you sound like when all things are equal and we can be alone. Or perhaps I want to wake up next to you in a bed big enough for us both - I will wake up first and when you wake up you will roll over to kiss me and say good morning._

_We can spend the morning there, before we’ve even got up for breakfast, we can spend the whole day there and it won’t be wasted because in bed with you is the only place I want to be. If we are alone I can touch you like I want to and kiss you whenever the desire takes us and, believe me, I always want to..._

They do manage to get up for breakfast, just about, before it has to become lunch. 

There is something about Richard slightly unmade that Thomas is captivated by; sat at the dining table, his shirt sleeves rolled up and waistcoat unbuttoned, stockinged feet against the floor and there’s a version of their lives where Thomas gets to see that every day. Richard carefree, comfortable and happy, safe within four walls, the sun shining in his hair, turning it golden. 

‘Shall we go for a walk?’ 

It’s a beautiful day and it’s one thing to enjoy a tease but they probably can’t actually spend the day in bed, or at least they shouldn’t, but outside of the flat is a whole new world where who they are to each other in private has to be safely guarded and the older he gets the more Thomas is jealous of every moment he can’t have the real Richard, the man Richard is when there’s no one around to observe them. 

In truth Richard is not so different in the house or out of it, alone or in company, but Thomas knows he’s spikier, more belligerent, when he isn’t at ease and he wants to show Richard the best of himself, not spoil their time together because someone looked at them askance in the park. It's been a long time since he enjoyed the danger of that and the men who indulged it were never who they seemed at first glance. 

His reticence must show on his face because already Richard is backtracking, ‘we don’t have to, we can stay right here, whatever you like.’ 

‘Do you mind? If we stay here?’

‘Not at all...’ Richard touches him with such care, moves closer to him in a way that makes Thomas feel like he’s been understood. There’s a delicacy to the way Richard is around him but he isn’t ever patronising. Richard creates space for Thomas to get ahead of his thoughts, to understand how he feels before he reacts, and there’s no time for regret here, either.

‘...and it means I can do this, whenever I like,’ Richard leans in to kiss him over the remains of the breakfast.

‘Is that right,’ says Thomas, unease forgotten, ‘and what else can you do?’ 

_...if you will let me. Say you will?_

_The whole day will be free to us to talk and laugh. I want to find out everything I can about you. All the things you like to eat, and read, the music you like to dance to. It’s always so difficult not to give everything away when I write, I’m an open book, but you are a mystery I can’t wait to unravel._

_I want to find out every way you like to be touched, every place you like to be kissed. Are you ticklish? In a bed big enough for two do you sleep on your back or your front? I will find all this out. I will give you anything you ask for; my hand, my mouth, my prick._

_It won’t be enough, it never is, but it will have to be enough, for now, to keep us sated until the next time. I tell myself not to waste all my time thinking ahead to next time so instead I am waiting in breathless anticipation for you in my arms._

_Until then, with love._

_R_

Richard walks Thomas to the station when the weekend is over and the sun is still out. It’s the best kind of weather in Thomas’s opinion; sharp and bright and clear. It makes parting easier, to shake Richard’s hand and watch him try to contain a smile, on a day that’s determined to be cheerful.

‘Thank you for having me,’ Thomas is not above a joke when the mood strikes him and with Richard it’s always so easy, laughter caught between them more often than not. 

Richard gives into the smile, steps a pace closer and lowers his voice, ‘you’re very welcome, anytime.’ 

Thomas wants so badly to touch him, one last time, but Richard’s already put his suitcase down at their feet so there will be no chance for an accidental brush of fingers and his train is imminent with too long to wait for the next one, time he doesn't have. They seem to be teetering on the brink of something but despite the fashionable cut of Richard's suit and the charm of his smile, romantic goodbyes at train stations are not afforded to men like them. He must make do with a nod of the head and understanding, shining in Richard's eyes. 

‘Goodbye, then, Mr Barrow, ‘til next time.’

Thomas nods tightly as he turns away, ‘goodbye, Richard,’ but the smile stays on his face until the train is well on its way through the Midlands. 

_...kiss you, have you._

_We can lie together until we can’t wait any longer and we have to touch, I want your hands on me more than anything. We can lie together after with no need to rush away, I want to hear you whispering sweet things to me as I fall asleep. I want to know every way we fit together and some ways we don’t and learn to love them too. I will give you every part of myself you ask for, I will take anything you have to offer me._

_I can’t wait to see you this time, next time, the time after that and all our days off until we’re old men._

_Always yours._

_T.B_

‘Did you have a nice trip, Mr Barrow?’ Daisy looks at him with wide eyed sincerity as she pours him a cup of tea in the Servant's Hall and Thomas is in too good a mood to be sarcastic.

‘Yes, I did, thank you, Daisy. I trust this place didn’t go to wrack and ruin while I was away?’

He sits down at the table and everyone carries on with what they’d been doing before he walked in and interrupted them.

‘What did you get up to?’ Phyllis’s smile is far too knowing and she isn’t quite looking him in the eye as she picks up her sewing again. 

‘I visited the Monument, and St Paul’s and Trafalgar Square,’ Thomas rattles them off and hopes no one is much interested beyond the names of the places he _visited_.

‘ _Really?_ You walked up all them stairs?’ says Daisy from the doorway.

‘It was tiring but well worth the view from the top.’ 

‘You’d visit again then?’ says Phyllis and she is looking at him now, smiling a softer sort of smile. 

Thomas smiles back, he can’t help it, and hides himself behind the newspaper, ‘yes, I rather think I will.’

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [tumblr!](https://lacerta26.tumblr.com)


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